THE GENDER ASPECTS IN PROEIONAL SELF-ACTUATION OF FUTURE RESCUE WORKERS

the essence of such notions as “gender”, “gender symmetry”, “self-actuation”, is disclosed in the article; the gender equality implementation in the military environment, in women’s mastering the extremely hazardous professions and their self-fulfilment in this activity area is described; it is proved that the work on I-concept has facilitated (both males and females) to learn seeing their goals, to plan and attain tangible results in training and profession activities in the course of performing their duties; to understand their selves, their abilities and limitations, to learn manifesting their aptitudes and develop them actively, that is to work on fulfilment of their professional and life plans, therefore actuating themselves in future.

THE EFFECT OF OSH PROGRAM AND WORK DISCIPLINE ON THE PERFORMANCE OF FIREFIGHTERS AT THE FIRE SERVICES OF BOGOR DISTRICT IN 2020

Background: Performance is very important in an agency to achieve goals. The implementation of the OSH program and work discipline is one of the important factors to improve employee performance. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze an influence OSH program and work discipline on improving performance in firefighters. Method: This research method is quantitative associative. The sample used was 165 firefighters and rescue workers taken through purposive sampling. Data was collected by filling out a questionnaire. In this study, hypothesis testing will be carried out which includes the F-test (simultaneous test), T-test (partial test), and multiple linear analysis. Result: The results showed that there was a significant effect of the OSH program and work discipline on performance where the value of Fcount = 200.571 > from Ftable = 3.06. The K3 and Work Discipline Program can affect the dependent variable of performance in fire officers at the Bogor Regency Fire Department by 71.2% while the remaining 28.8% is influenced by other variables not included in this study. Conclusion: It can be concluded that there is an influence between the OSH program and work discipline on the performance of firefighters. Therefore, firefighters must always improve their performance to achieve agency goals.

Enseigner à distance au pays du soleil levant et des hautes technologies

Japan is a country where natural disasters, typhoons, earthquakes, landslides, torrential rains, etc. are part of everyday life. Even though these phenomena are unpredictable, the Japanese are more or less well prepared for them, thanks to their past experiences and the regular training of rescue workers and civilians to deal with the occurrence of any disaster. The image of the dedicated Japanese combined with the fact that Japan is a highly technological society where everyone is excellent at using computers might lead one to believe that distance learning would not be a problem, that everyone would be prepared to deal with it. Unfortunately, it is not enough to press the power button on the computer. The user also needs to know what to do next. So the transition from face-to-face to distance learning has not been without problems.

Development and Validation of an Instrument to Measure Work-Related Stress among Rescue Workers in Traumatic Mass-Casualty Disasters

Rescue workers are a population at high-risk for mental problems as they are exposed to work-related stress from confrontation with traumatic events when responding to a disaster. A reliable measure is needed to assess rescue workers’ work-related stress from their surveillance of a disaster scene to help prevent severe PTSD and depressive symptoms. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Work-Related Stress Scale (WRSS) designed to measure stress in rescue workers after responding to traumatic mass-casualty events. An exploratory sequential mixed methods procedure was employed. The qualitative phase of the item generation component involved in-depth interviews of 7 experienced rescue workers from multiple specialties who had taken part in 1 or 2 mass-casualty events: the 2018 Hualien earthquake or the 2016 Tainan earthquake. In the quantitative phase, a modified Delphi approach was used to achieve consensus ratings by the same 7 raters on the items and to assess content validity. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis using a broader sample of 293 rescue workers who had taken part in 1 of 2 mass-casualty events: the 2018 Hualien earthquake or the 2021 Hualien train derailment. The final WRSS consists of 16 items total and 4 subscales: Physical Demands, Psychological Response, Environmental Interruption, and Leadership, with aggregated alphas of 0.74–0.88. The WRSS was found to have psychometric integrity as a measure of stress in rescue workers after responding to a disaster.

A Concept Analysis on Disaster Resilience in Rescue Workers: The Psychological Perspective

Objective: The term disaster resilience has not been well defined. The purpose of this article is to scrutinize the concept of disaster resilience in rescue workers. Methods: A systematic search was conducted of the PsychInfo, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus databases using the key terms. The framework from Walker and Avant was used to analyze the concept of disaster resilience. Results: A total of 26 papers was included in this analysis. The attributes of disaster resilience have been identified from the literature as including personality, perceived control, self-efficacy, coping strategies, and social support. The antecedents of disaster resilience are disastrous events and preparedness for disaster. The consequences of disaster resilience are psychological well-being, posttraumatic growth, and enhanced work engagement. Conclusion: This concept analysis presents a definition of the concept of disaster resilience that could contribute to the development of a standardized screening or assessment tool and tailored training programs to strengthen disaster resilience among those who are willing to be deployed to engage in disaster rescue work and those who have been involved in such work.

Communication of preclinical emergency teams in critical situations: A nationwide study

Background The emergency medical service as a high-risk workplace is a danger to patient safety. A main factor for patient safety, but also at the same time a main factor for patient harm, is team communication. Team communication is multidimensional and occurs before, during, and after the patient’s treatment. Methods In an online based, anonymous and single-blinded study, medical and non-medical employees in the emergency medical services were asked about team communication, and communication errors. Results Seven hundred and fourteen medical and non-medical rescue workers from all over Germany took part. Among them, 72.0% had harmed at least one patient during their work. With imprecise communication, 81.7% rarely asked for clarification. Also, 66.3% saw leadership behavior as the cause of poor communication; 46.0% could not talk to their superiors about errors. Of note, 96.3% would like joint training of medical and non-medical employees in communication. Conclusion Deficits in team communication occur frequently in the rescue service. There is a clear need for uniform training in team and communication skills in all professions.

Drones to the rescue? Exploring rescue workers' behavioral intention to adopt drones in mountain rescue missions

PurposeMountaineering and related activities are increasingly becoming popular and are accompanied by an increase in medical incidents. Emergency operations in mountainous terrain are time-critical and often pose major logistical challenges for rescuers. Drones are expected to improve the operational performance of mountain rescuers. However, they are not yet widely used in mountain rescue missions. This paper examines the determinants that drive the behavioral intention of mountain rescuers to adopt drones in rescue missions.Design/methodology/approachThis is a behavioral study that builds upon an extended model of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and investigates the relationship between individual attitudes, perceptions, and intentions for drone adoption. Original survey data of 146 mountain rescuers were analyzed using moderated ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis.FindingsResults indicate that the behavioral intention to use drones in mountain rescue missions is driven by the expected performance gains and facilitating conditions. Favorable supporting conditions and experience with drones further moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and behavioral intention. The effects for effort expectancy, social influence, and demonstrations were not significant.Practical implicationsRescue organizations and stakeholders are recommended to consider the identified determinants in the implementation of drones in emergency logistics. Drone manufacturers targeting mountain rescue organizations are advised to focus on operational performance, provide sufficient support and training, and promote the gathering of practical experience.Originality/valueA tailored-model that provides first empirical results on the relevance of personal and environmental factors for the acceptance of drones in emergency logistics is presented.

Rescuers at Risk: Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms Among Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Ambulance Personnel, and Emergency and Psychiatric Nurses

Emergency personnel and rescue workers may be at a risk of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) due to exposure to trauma and work-related stressors. Though rescuers of different professions are often engaged in the same type of emergency, they have different tasks and responsibilities and receive different training in coping with traumatic events and stress; hence, we speculated that the salience of identified risk factors for PTSS vary across their respective professions. The present cross-sectional survey aimed to identify influencing variables on PTSS, well-being, and suicidal ideation that can act differently across professions of rescue workers and emergency personnel. In this anonymous online study, data from 1,002 rescue workers and emergency personnel in Switzerland, were collected: 499 police officers, 239 firefighters, 97 ambulance personnel, and 85 emergency and 82 psychiatric nurses. PTSS, coping strategies, well-being, suicidal ideation, previously experienced and work-related trauma, and self-efficacy were measured and analyzed using multiple regression and structural equation modeling (SEM). The prevalence of suspected posttraumatic stress disorder varied across the professions, ranged from 8% (firefighters) to 22% (psychiatric nurses), and was associated with psychological strain and suicidal ideation. The SEM showed that dysfunctional coping strategies, self-efficacy, previously experienced and work-related trauma, years on job, and female sex explained up to 78% of PTSS and that PTSS itself explained up to 68% of the psychological strain experienced in the different professions. Independent of the profession, dysfunctional coping such as alcohol use, avoidance, and distraction, as well as work-related trauma were the most robust predictors of PTSS. However, while self-efficacy was a risk factor for police officers, firefighters and ambulance personnel, it was a protective factor for emergency and psychiatric nurses. Furthermore, female sex was only a risk factor for ambulance personnel and emergency nurses. In agreement with prior research, emergency personnel and rescuers exhibited enhanced prevalence of PTSS and suspected PTSD, leading to significant psychological strain and suicidal ideation. However, risk factors varied across the professions. Thus, the development of profession-specific trainings to improve self-efficacy and coping with work-related stressors to reduce PTSS, and enhance quality of life, is needed for individuals in such high-risk professions.Clinical Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Nr. NCT03842553.

Emergency Response and Post-Disaster Recovery Using Smartphone-Based Applications

The number of natural disasters, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, flooding, cyclone, and bushfires, is rapidly increasing globally, and they are claiming thousands of lives while destroying numerous properties. One of the major concerns of these natural disasters is the destruction of communication links, such as powerline and Internet connections, which make it difficult to enable communication among the affected people and the rescue teams. However, the evolution of smart devices equipped with multiple short-range communication technologies, such as Bluetooth and Wi-Fi provides an opportunity to form an ad-hoc network with co-located smart mobile device users and communicate their positions and other relevant information to the rescue workers. This chapter provides a detailed description of recent advancement in this area and highlights important aspects that are needed to be considered for practical implementation.